After The Fall: German Policy In Occupied France, 1940-1944 University Press Scholarship Online

German policy in occupied France during the Second World War was in many ways a story of bitter internal conflict between the various German agencies in charge of the occupation. After the Fall provides a detailed analysis of the struggle between these different agencies, highlighting the significant differences in ideology, policy, and method between the army, the SS, and the diplomatic service, and the rivalries between them in their struggle for dominance. It also looks at what these battles implied for the direction of German policy in France, from the exploitation of the French economy and the suppression of resistance activity, to the attempt to carry out Nazi racial plans. In the process, it sheds much light on both the inner workings of the Nazi regime and on the decisions made by the French government during the course of the occupation. After signing an armistice agreement on 22 June 1940, Adolf Hitler placed the German army in charge of occupied France and ordered the military government to supervise the Vichy regime and maintain security. Viewing World War II as a struggle between nation‐states, the military commander in France, Otto von Stülpnagel, cultivated French support, placed industrial resources at the disposal of the German war effort, and maintained ‘security’ by capturing enemy soldiers and Allied spies. Initially barred from the Hexagon, Göring's Office of the Four Year Plan, Himmler's SS, and Ribbentrop's Foreign Office adopted an expanded definition of security, argued that the Reich had to combat the so‐called Jewish conspiracy to maintain order, and secured Hitler's favor. In conjunction with Alfred Rosenberg and the French government, they launched an anti‐Semitic campaign of defamation, discrimination, and despoliation. Hitler used assassinations as a pretext for genocide and ordered subordinates to answer resistance activity with deadly reprisals and massive deportations that focused on Jews. Stülpnagel condemned anti‐Semitic measures and disproportionate hostage executions as impolitic distractions and resigned his command. Astute political tactics helped the Himmler seize control of German security forces but alienated the military government and, later, the Vichy regime. With limited support from French and German colleagues, the SS could only deport 75,000 French Jews: Fritz Sauckel's labor organization impressed approximately 850,000 workers into the German war economy by cooperating with French and German colleagues. Accommodation explains divergent results of select German policies, clarifies the inner workings of the Nazi regime, and elucidates decisions made by Prime Ministers Pierre Laval and François Darlan ... Examines How Bureaucratic Rivalries Shaped German Policy In France, From The Despoliation Of Jewish Property And The Suppression Of Resistance Activity, To Hitler's Final Solution And Enslavement Of French Workers. In The Process, It Reveals The Inner Workings Of The Nazi Regime And Illuminates Decisions Made By The French Government During The Course Of The Occupation--flyleaf. Introduction -- The Shocking Defeat -- Rivals And Scavengers -- Setting The Precedent -- First Measures -- Resistance And Reprisals -- The End Of Ambiguity -- Transitions -- Defamation, Discrimination, And Despoliation -- Racial Deportations -- Labor Deportations And Resistance -- Invasion And Retreat. Thomas J. Laub. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [297]-314) And Index.